


Tell Me A Story!

by softandhappy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Action/Adventure, Other, Post-Canon, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23853397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softandhappy/pseuds/softandhappy
Summary: Little Lucina is having a hard time sleeping! It's up to her uncle Robin to help her fall asleep with a bedtime story. But what kind of story should he tell? Maybe... one about a certain other Lucina?
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	Tell Me A Story!

The shining stars illuminating the night sky shimmer across the reflection of the fountain in the square. Yet even with this beautiful scene, the streets of Ylisstol were eerily quiet this late into the night. Most times you could see merchants clearing their stalls after a long day of hard work. At the same time, though, there were a few ambitious workers already preparing for the morning sun to break, signaling the beginning of their day. Yet, not a single soul stirred. Not even the mischievous Annas were seen peddling their wares, a truly rare sight for any passing commoner or traveler to see, if one were to pass by now. But oddly enough, it felt as if no one would dare try to disturb this peaceful silence. What was the reason? Could there have been something special about this very day that would cause everyone to be as silent as the wind?

Actually, there wasn't any particular reason for it. But the silence frightened the young princess so much that she couldn't fall asleep.

Lucina tightens her grip on her blanket while whimpering. She was scared most when everything was silent because it made her feel alone. And the thought of being alone was something she had trouble handling.

Granted, she was quite literally alone in her bedroom right now. But that's different. If she was really desperate, she could shout for someone in the castle right now. However, all that she would achieve from that was probably a scolding from big, scary Frederick about being mindful of everyone's sleep. And she was trying really, _really_ hard to be sensible!

Still, she was frightened, and she felt alone. Lucina doesn't even know why she's so fearful of being alone. But whenever she thought of her parents disappearing forever, or of Auntie Lissa abandoning her, or even of Frederick giving up on her, she could hardly handle it.

_It's okay,_ she thinks to herself, _it'll be okay. I-I'm a big girl! I should be able to—_

Something suddenly slams against her bedroom door.

_AAAAAAAAH!_

She immediately throws the large blanket over herself to hide underneath it. Lucina quivers in fear.

_Oh gods, what if there's a scary monster outside the door?! I don't have my practice sword with me or anything else to defend against—_

Her door slowly opens. She hears someone whisper something, but due to her panic dominating her senses, she fails to clearly hear what they said. Then came the sound of footsteps carefully approaching her, and a light getting brighter and brighter. And as the monster laggardly draws closer, Lucina's fear skyrockets.

_OHGODSWHATDOIDOTHEMONSTERISRIGHTTHEREANDTHEY'REGONNAEATMEUPANDI'MNEVERGONNASEEMOTHERORFATHERORCYNTHIAORUNCLE—_

"Lucina? Are you okay?"

She recognizes the calm voice that spoke to her, the voice that always manages to soothe her heart without fail.

"U-Uncle Robin!"

Lucina quickly pushes the blanket aside and throws herself into his arms. Tears dampen his shirt as she presses her face against him. Robin sets down his candlestick on the table next to her bed and caresses her head. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he calmly whispers to her, "everything is okay. Why are you crying?"

"I couldn't go to sleep because I was scared of the silence, and then I heard a scary noise from outside my room, and I thought it was a monster!"

"Ah… I-Is that so?" he sheepishly asks.

The startling noise actually originated from him. He had been immersed in his research that Robin didn't realize how late it had gotten, so he was on his way to his room when he accidentally stumbled and fell against the door to Lucina's room. The tactician, normally aware of himself and his surroundings, was simply much too drowsy right now to properly stabilize himself.

Now he just feels guilty.

"Do not fret, Lucina. No monster could ever hurt you, not while your father is around. And," he adds while smiling, "you also have me, for whatever that may be worth."

"B-But," she interrupts, "what about when daddy's no longer around? What do I do when… when you're no longer around, Uncle Robin?"

His heart aches at her words.

"I am confident that if that day were to come where Chrom and I are no longer around, you'll be strong enough and wise enough to care for yourself. Who knows, you might even be the one who takes care of us!" he says with a laugh.

_Maybe,_ Lucina thinks to herself, _but… I'll always pray that you'll be around, no matter what._

She releases her hold on Robin and lies back down. Robin helps tuck her into bed before leaving the room, but as he turns around, Lucina quickly reaches out and tugs at his sleeve.

"Uncle Robin… could you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Robin himself was already on the verge of passing out, but when he saw her hand meekly trembling, he couldn't allow himself to just leave her as is. "Alright," he tells her. Her frightened expression is immediately replaced by a beaming smile.

"Okay, let's see," he mumbles to himself, "how to help you fall asleep…"

"Tell me a story!" Lucina immediately requests.

"A story? I'm afraid that I lack any sort of bedtime tale to—"

"That's fine! Anything is fine."

_Anything… Well, it has to be a story of courage and bravery, something that can help her become less fearful of solidarity… Aha! I got it!_

Robin clears his throat and begins his first tale.

* * *

_I once heard of a beautiful fishing hamlet that flourished along an unknown lake. It fell to ruin some years ago. People say it now stands there as some sort of archaic symbol to warn future generations. I asked the man who told me of this: What does it warn?_

_He said with a laugh,_

" _Perhaps it was a fate the Goddess saw to deliver!"_

_Now, it is long since anyone has stepped foot there once again._

_And people look back at that hamlet as a ghost town plagued by vengeful spirits of the past._

_However, one certain masked warrior felt brave enough to pass by. A warrior known by many, yet hardly known at all. As to why they sought that place, only they could say._

_Perhaps they were simply a wandering warrior who sought to pay omen to those of the past…_

* * *

Risen crawl along the muddied ground; their rotting, scabrous bodies serving as a truly pitiful sight that reflected how corrupt this land had become. Dry irrigation canals, worn down windmills, the crumbled remains of homes. People once lived here. REAL people. Not imaginary families whose fates were to suffer in order to teach a lesson to children. Real families who lost their lives due to the horrid desires of bandits and rogues. Not even a cheerful sun nor a beautiful moon could dispel the ghastly air that surrounded this place.

Lucina removes her mask to slap herself. She steadies her breathing. _No need to be fearful,_ she thinks to herself, _this is nothing compared to the atrocities Grima committed._

Yet the princess couldn't help but think of those very same atrocities. All the homes she watched burn in the raging fires, all the corpses she saw piled atop one another. To see a scene so horribly similar… it made her sick to her stomach. The similarities between then and now strikes her heart stronger than any sword ever could.

She equips her mask once again, reminding herself that she was strong enough. Strong enough, not because she has the strength to sit through the eerie surroundings, but strong enough to carry along the sorrow that permeates the very soil of this place.

_You have a job to do. See it through._

Rumors tell of a lost relic lying deep within the recesses of this ghost town, one whose powers are so immense that they may have belonged to the Goddess herself. Those brave enough to search it for themselves, or rather, those corrupt enough to think nothing of desecrating this ruin, all returned to tell the tale of a vengeful ghost that chased them away. It seems that someone, or something, was protecting this place, posing as a spirit of the dead. One nimble enough to seemingly dodge all attacks, one strong enough to overpower even the strongest Berserker. Amid this dreary bog of rotting Risen, who in their right mind would act as protector of this land? Yet if there was some being willing to risk their lives in defending some relic, perhaps the relic truly is a powerful device that cannot fall into the hands of man at any cost.

However, Lucina didn't believe in any of this. In fact, she had a hunch as to the truth of the matter, and she came here to settle it.

She continues further in, ignoring the hastening beat of her heart. Lucina surveys the desolate sight as she tightly grips Falchion. The groans of Risen echo out in the distance, mirroring the despair from the moans of Risen nearby. A part of her wanted to kill them out of some twisted desire to end their suffering. She knows full well that these Risen were once human, their broken masks gave away what little humanity remained in their faces. But she didn't want to feel like she was stepping on the little bit of life that they had left.

_Were they even still alive as they are now? Are they not better off slain and put to rest?_

This time, she pinches her arm. Now wasn't the time to be swallowed up by these feelings.

Deep in the town, she finds an open-air shrine. A very decrepit one, at that, though at this point she isn't surprised. What was much more surprising was what she found further beyond its moss-covered gate.

Lucina gazes in awe at a beautiful statuette of a woman placed atop its dirty pedestal. She can hardly believe the masterful craftwork poured into its design despite its size. The statuette's expression is solemn, yet its smile practically lifted her spirits. Was this the relic everyone spoke of? She holds it in her hand and examines it closely. The statuette was far too clean to have been here all this time. Perhaps that so-called protector was the one who—

" _Get… away…"_ a raspy voice whispers.

"Huh?"

Lucina turns around. "Is someone there?"

No response.

…

"Ah!"

On instinct, the princess drops the statuette on the pedestal and quickly jumps back. As she does, a black sword comes crashing down at her. It barely grazes her calves before she lands a wide distance away from the pedestal. A tinge of pain spreads throughout her leg, but she manages to stabilize herself nonetheless. Lucina looks up at the pedestal once more. The black sword that attacked her faded away into thin air. "Damn, it's magic?"

She unsheathes the Falchion at her hip and positions herself. "Where are you?!" Lucina yells out.

" _Get away..."_

The ground beneath her rumbles. Without hesitation, Lucina sprints away from where she stood. A black spear erupts from the ground behind her, and soon, a trail of them begins to form towards her. Lucina continues to run away. She points Falchion to the ground and lets the blade drag behind her, realizing that it would take too much effort to keep it held up as she runs. Sparks fly from the tip of the sword, and occasionally it would bash into one of the spears trailing behind her. They were catching up to her.

_Eventually they'll get me, and if they don't, the caster will surely begin aiming for where I'll be instead of chasing after me. However, I can't do anything else except run if I don't know where the mage is!_

She takes a deep breath, and in one fluid movement, she backflips high into the air, throwing off the trail of spears that chased after her. When she lands, she immediately pivots back around and sprints towards the pedestal.

_If I can't find them, then I'll force them to come out! They clearly don't want me near that statuette, so this time I'll take it from them!_

And as if the enemy read her mind, a wall of black swords suddenly surround the pedestal. Lucina smirks. As if _that_ was enough to stop her.

The deft swordswoman jumps into the air once more. This time, she bypasses the wall of swords and lands atop the pedestal itself. Lucina quickly grabs the statuette and prepares to jump once more, but a surge of pain prevents her from taking off. She nearly forgot, her calves had been injured earlier. Drastic jumps like that would naturally have taken its toll on the injury.

" _Get away get away get away get away get away get away get away get away—_ "

A cloaked sorcerer appears out of nowhere right in front of her. Lucina wasn't able to see their face, but the seething rage in their eyes was clear as day.

" _ **GET AWAY!**_ "

_Oh gods._

An eruption of magic blows Lucina off the pedestal, launching her quite a distance away. The force of the blast caught her completely off-guard, and she failed to catch herself in the air. She rolls across the ground on impact, only managing to stop by pushing herself back up. Her hands dig into the ground when she does so. Lucina pants in exhaustion. That attack did quite a bit of damage. It even managed to tear through the pauldrons on her shoulders, not to mention cut through her clothing. She reaches up to her face and wipes away the dirt from her cheeks—

_Wait, from my cheek? Where's my…!_

She frantically searches the area around her and finds her mask split in two.

"Oh damn it all, now I have to get that replaced! Wait, no, there's a much more pressing matter to attend to."

Lucina takes a deep breath and exhales once more. She raises her Falchion and points it at the sorcerer. "Answer me," she demands, "who _are_ you?!"

In a split second, the sorcerer disappears, then reappears right in front of her face. Lucina quickly pulls the Falchion in to slice at them, but they swiftly dodge her strike with ease. The swordswoman presses on, swinging at them with a flurry of slashes, mimicking a beautiful blade dance. Yet despite the immense speed and sheer force behind her attacks, they fail to connect, and for a moment Lucina could have sworn that the Falchion was phasing right through them. Those rumors were right, somehow this person really could dodge everything like a ghost.

"Will you not tell me your name?" she presses once more.

" _Get away, get away!"_ they repeat again.

"Fine. It doesn't matter, for I already know who you are."

Lucina backsteps, then quickly pushes herself forward again. Dark magic builds up in the sorcerer's hands; they were getting prepared to attack once more. As they levitate off the ground and rise higher into the sky, Lucina smirks.

_This is my chance!_

"Will you truly continue to cling to the past, Aversa?!" she shouts.

" _...!_ "

The sorcerer hesitates at the mention of _that_ name. And that was the moment Lucina needed. With what little energy remained of her legs, she leaps upward, spiraling herself into the sky. She swipes the Falchion up along with her and slashes right through the sorcerer's left arm. They both plummet to the ground. Lucina lands first, and though the pain from her calves stun her for just a moment, she throws the Falchion aside and runs forward to catch the sorcerer in her arms.

"Grgh!"

She barely manages to catch them, but the impact of their fall nearly brought her to her knees. Lucina slightly staggers as she slowly lays the sorcerer on the ground.

"Aversa?" she asks, "Can you hear me?"

The sorcerer dryly chuckles. "I… haven't been called by that name… in so long…"

_I knew it._

Long ago, near the end of the battle against Grima, the Shepherds had one last battle against Aversa. On that day, in the dusty field of the Dragon's Table, the witch had commanded an army of deadlords against them. It was one of their most difficult skirmishes yet, and had Robin not been careful, it was entirely possible that they could have lost during that battle. However, they won, and at the end of it, they believed Aversa to be dead. However, she managed to survive, and even fled the continent altogether to Valm. It was in that continent where they found her once more, at the Wellspring of Truth. But during that time, they failed to convince Aversa in joining them. Instead, the visibly broken woman left, unsure of where she would end up.

But Lucina had an inkling that she would come to this ruined village. After all, it is what remains of her former home. In the ruined future, this was the same village that Aversa had operated under Grima's orders. Now it was nothing more than a memory of her former life, the life that had been unjustly taken away from her. When the rumors about this place first began, Lucina already knew that the chances Aversa was a part of it were high.

And so, feeling like she had to uphold some form of responsibility, Lucina came to her on her own.

"You can stop now," she whispers to the witch, "they deserve to rest and pass on, not to continue living in this ruined hell."

Aversa reaches out her arm to touch Lucina's face. The way her arm slowly twitched and shook as she reached out gave away just how broken she was. Lucina grasps her hand, guiding it to her face.

"I envy you…" she croaks out.

"I know. I'm sorry."

The witch chuckles once again. "Don't be… P-Please, take care of my… my…"

Her words fade into the wind as she closes her eyes. Lucina grips her hand tightly in an attempt to keep what little warmth remained. And as that warmth fades away, she lets out a sigh while releasing Aversa's arm.

At that moment, the murky clouds parted in the sky, and moonlight seeped through, illuminating the two of them.

Lucina looks up to the pedestal once more.

The statuette had disappeared. Sitting in its place was a dirty, ragged doll. Was this what Aversa tried to protect?

She then takes a look around her. All the rotting Risen had now disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the ruined homes. Even the once turbid puddles shimmered under the moon's luminescent beam like clear water.

It no longer felt frightening. Lucina stares in awe at the sight in front of her. How could this ruined village look so… beautiful?

Perhaps Aversa's magic covered the area in a sort of reality shifting state, one that endeavored to frighten those passing by. Now that the witch is dead, the veil is lifted, and left in its wake is this village's true image.

_One day, people can come here and make this place into a new home. But for now…_

Lucina takes the doll from the pedestal.

"I'll grant your final request, Lady Aversa."

* * *

"And so, the masked hero made their return home. Despite the overwhelming fear, the astounding dread, they put the souls of that ghost town to rest, all on their—"

Robin looks down at Lucina. She softly snores in her slumber while gripping his finger tightly. The tactician smiles to himself while he tucks the blanket under her.

_It seems that did the trick. Not bad for an improvised story!_

He leans over and kisses her forehead and whispers, "Goodnight, little Lucy."

Robin quietly sneaks out of her room. When he closes the door behind him, he releases a big sigh.

"Gods, it really is late. Chrom is going to kill me if he finds out that I've been neglecting a proper sleep schedule again—"

"Oh? You're worried about how my father would react, not how _I_ would react?"

Lucina greets him with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. "Is my father truly much more important than your lover?"

"I did not say that, and you know that I would never say that."

She glares at him for a few seconds before her expression melts away to a smile. "I'm back," she says to him. He reciprocates her smile with one of his own.

"Welcome back… also, er—"

Robin averts his eyes and points at her torn clothes. "You might want to change out of that."

The princess shakes her head in disagreement. "Not before I've had a drink! We've both had long nights from what I can tell, why not relax a little while we can?"

"Alcohol?" Robin questions, "At _this_ time of night?"

"Whatever helps drown away the exhaustion, no?"

"... Fine. I'll have just one glass."

The sleep-deprived couple make their way down the hallway, arms linked together while they rested their heads against one another. Robin notices the ragged doll held in Lucina's other hand. "What's that?" he asks her.

"Oh, this? It's…"

Lucina thinks back to Aversa's last words.

"It's a gift for the little me. I think she'd like it."

"I see," Robin smiles, "but strange, didn't you say that you would be out investigating some old hamlet? Wherever did you find that doll?"

She chuckles as they continue along the hall. "I'll tell you about it over the drinks."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this to the end! This was a fun one-shot idea I had in my head that I really wanted to write out. My hope is that I was able to portray everything in a cohesive manner, one that does right by these characters!
> 
> A big thank you to the following authors/amazing friends for encouraging me by looking over my drafts. (I love you guys!)
> 
> To Rainbow, author of "Her Decimation, His Devotion."  
> To Sushion, author of "A Pale-Blue Awakening."  
> To Mixed Valence, author of "Earthborne."
> 
> Lastly, a plug for the Fanfiction Treehouse discord server! They're full of great writers who have helped me out so much, and I love them dearly. Check us out at /9XG3U7a


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